Is Freelancing Perfect for WAH Moms? (pt.1)
September 16, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Jobs
I often see freelance writing advertised as a “work at home” opportunity. Now, of course, anyone can work from the home, but “stay at home” or “work at home” jobs are most associated with parents who want to be at home for their children. Otherwise, the person typically refers to their job as “telecommute” or “freelance” instead.
So if freelancer writing is so commonly associated with staying at home, is it true – is it really the perfect job for a mommy (or daddy) who doesn’t want to put the kids in day care?
Maybe.
I have a problem with the number of people who think they can be a freelancer writer at the drop of a hat. It’s rather insulting, really. I’ve spent years honing my skill and have a degree in professional writing. Beyond that, I’ve been a writer since I was in first grade and was asking my mom how to spell words so I could make books out of construction paper. So, for someone who has never written a word in their life to decide that this is going to be their new career…yes, it is insulting.
I’m not saying that it can’t be done. Lots of people are good writers naturally, and many have developed writing and marketing skills without even realizing it through their other jobs. That said, (and I’ve said this a million times before) just because you write an annual Christmas letter to your friends and family doesn’t mean you’re qualified to be a professional writer.
But I digress. Let’s say, for the sake of the argument, that you actually do have natural talent as a writer, and maybe even a little experience. We all have to start somewhere, so I’m not knocking you just because you haven’t done any writing professionally in the past. Could it be the right job for you? Yes, it could.
Image: sxc.hu
If you’re doing it just to be able to stay home with your kids, though, you should perhaps reconsider. It can work for some moms, but here are some points you should definitely think about before you quit your job and buy a laptop:
- There’s little job stability.
You have children – a family to provide for. Freelancer writing doesn’t always give you the stable financial life you may need to make sure all of their needs are met. A friend once told me that I was lucky because there was no ceiling to my earning potential. In other words, because I make my own hours and get paid based directly on the work I do, I could do extra work to make more money. Yes…if I can find that extra work. Some months, as a freelancer, I make a lot of money. Other months, I don’t have much work at all. It’s just me, so if I have to tighten my belt a little one week, it isn’t a big deal. Try telling a toddler that he has to eat a smaller lunch or your teen that he can’t go to football practice this week because you don’t have the gas to drive him there.
- If you’re easily distracted, it can be hard to work with the kids around.
I actually know some freelancers who send their children to day care even though they’re stay at home writers. When you need to get a project done, you can’t have ten million distractions. Older children can probably take care of themselves, but when your one-year-old wants your attention, he may SCREAM until you give it to him. He doesn’t care that you have a deadline!
- You have freedom to schedule around events, but you don’t get sick days.
Many parents eat up their sick days and personal time taking care of their children when sick. You don’t get sick days when you’re a freelancer, though. Sure, your schedule is flexible so you can take the kids to soccer practice or have date night with your spouse, but you still have to plan ahead. If your child comes down with the flu on a day when you have a major deadline, you could put your relationship with that client in jeopardy.
Oh, don’t worry, I have a lot more to say on this topic. Check back to read part 2!
There is no way in the world that I’d be able to work with my preschooler around–not when he was an infant, not when he was a toddler, and not now. I’m a WAHM, all right, but for the last 18 months he’s been in preschool every morning so I can write. That said, I know women who do manage to write without childcare, but for the most part they’re working after the kids are in bed or during naps–which means they never, ever get a break. Not that I get many, but…
Just. Loved. This. Everything I’ve always thought about this issue, but have been too scared to say out loud. I hear so often from adults that they want a few tips from me so they can become a writer. It makes me want to walk up to a brain surgeon and say, “Hey, could you walk me through what you do? I’m thinking of giving it a try.” It’s really hard to boil a college degree + many years of a career down into a few tips.
That said, there are people who, for whatever reasons, have wanted to be writers and who have, no doubt, been closet writers most of their lives. That’s a little different.
Anyway, I am one of the freelancers who puts her kid in daycare. I did try to work around her when she was a baby. It was a recipe for mental illness. Once, as I was interviewing an important client, she crawled onto my lap and peed on me. I finished the interview half naked. Writing requires a great deal of concentration. It’s really hard to do that when you have kids asking you to change the TV channel or get them juice. And, in my opinion, it’s not fair to your kids, who deserve to have some of your attention anyway.
Are you kidding? No way! It’s SO hard to do this job with kids–AT ALL–let alone if you think that you’re going to do it with kids in the home under your feet all day!! My children are in school 6 hours per day and I’m still playing catch up on the weekend.
And, writing is more than writing- you’re meeting interviewees, heading to libararies and newstands for research, post office, Fed Ex, meeting clients at coffee shops, networking. I rarely have a full day at home. This week I hd somewhere to go just about every day.
LOVED the pee story. I had to finish a phone interview hiding in a closet. I am not even joking!